Mickey the Squirrel's Observations
by SamanthaKathy
Summary: Mickey the Squirrel observes Team Seven and tries to figure out just how they fit together. ATF verse. Ezra/Vin slash reference.


**Author's note: originally published 18 August 2011 on AO3. It was written as a reply to a request on the Mag7 Kink Meme.**

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Every summer, every seventh sunrise, the quiet of the fields was disturbed by laughter. Mickey knew also that this laughter would bring food with it. Sometimes, one of the noise-makers even fed him something on purpose. So at first, he'd just come for the food. However, increasingly, the sound of laughter drew him for another reason. His mother had always warned him that his curiosity would get him caught by an owl or hawk, but he'd never been able to resist a mystery. And the seven noise-makers sure were a mystery. Climbing into his favorite observation tree, he settled in to watch.

He knew they were not nest-mates. There was only one male noise-maker living in the nest, although sometimes one of the other noise-makers would stay there. Mickey usually smelled blood at those times, so he assumed the others stayed in the nest temporarily for protection, until they recovered. But the regular meetings, with lots of food and noise, those were not for protection.

He watched as two of the noise-makers arrived. They were always together, and if he hadn't seen the younger one with a female several times, he'd have thought they were mates. No, they must've been nest-mates, or maybe they still were. And from what he had observed between the nest-owner and the older man that had arrived, they too must've been nest-mates.

The next one to arrive was weird, his fur-color much darker than that of the others. Definitely not a nest-mate of the others, yet he was still treated as such. Then again, it was the dark-furred one that usually brought the food, so he could understand why they kept him around, even though he wasn't a nest-mate. The oldest noise-maker had come with him this time. Mickey didn't think the two shared a nest, they arrived separately too often. The old noise-maker had had Mickey almost as confused as the dark-furred one, that is, until he saw him comforting the others whenever they needed it. This was usually after the noise turned really loud and laughter was absent, or if the smell of blood was in the air. Mickey was still a bit confused as to how a male could be a mother, but he was fairly sure the old noise-maker was the mother of all the others.

When the silent one arrived, Mickey burrowed a bit further in his cover. The silent one had an uncanny ability to find him. Oh, he never did anything, not even when he'd caught Mickey taking food one time. He'd just stood there, watching, and quite frankly, it freaked Mickey out. The silent one had been confusing too. He could make noise, of course, and did so frequently. Just not as frequently nor as loud as the others. Like Mickey, he seemed to like observing. At first, Mickey had thought the silent one was the mate of the nest-owner. The two communicated without making noise. However, he'd quickly dismissed that notion when he'd seen the silent one with his true mate. No, the silent one and the nest-owner were just of the same litter.

Mickey's ears twitched as they picked up the sound of his favorite arriving. Where the silent one just stood there, watching him eat, the silent one's mate actually fed him. Ever since the silent one had spotted him for the first time, his mate had left food out especially for Mickey. The noisy purr that sounded a bit like a cat stopped and moments later, the last of the seven joined the others. The noise-level increased accordingly, as did the laughter. Mickey settled in as his favorite snuggled up to the silent one. It would take a while before the noise-makers were done eating and even longer before they left. But it didn't bother Mickey, there were still plenty of things he hadn't figured out about the seven noise-makers…

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The Seven in order of appearance:

Buck and JD

Nathan and Josiah

Vin

Ezra (and his Jag)

With Chris as the nest-owner.


End file.
